Never before were corporations more awash with cash, outside of a small group of corporate managers and shareholders hardly anyone is benefiting. On the contrary: corporate financial investments reinforce troubling trends of high unemployment, rising debts, inequality and fiscal austerity in Europe and the US and precarious and badly paid jobs in the Global South. To contribute to a more balanced and sustainable economy, multinational corporations should be forced by governments to pay their fair share in taxes, to pay decent wages and to invest their cash reserves in productive rather than financial assets